The Law Enforcement and Family Critical Incident Response Team (LEAFCIRT) is a Kentucky State Lodge and Auxiliary Program as the Standard of Care for our law enforcement officers and their families.

The FOP has made great strides in setting the ground work for the utilization of Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) services throughout the nation. In an effort to ensure that there is CISM services available to all law enforcement and their families across the state teams have been created.

Our Auxiliaries have found, through many conversations with family members of law enforcement throughout the Commonwealth as well as across the United States, that depending upon law enforcement agencies to implement family support programs is not realistic. Most agency plans are for their officers only and not designed to include the families. No one else knows about or can relate to the uniqueness of being part of a law enforcement family except other law enforcement family members. The appropriate peer group is vital when bad things happen to us.

Currently, we have approximately 25 FOP and Auxiliary Members that are trained in Basic Critical Incident Stress Management and Individual Crisis Intervention/Peer Support Training. Since the inception of the program nine years ago the teams have been deployed for defusings and debriefings for law enforcement line of duty incidents across the state. More recently, the family teams were deployed to provide first responder family support to the families of fire and rescue workers following a line of duty incident and natural disaster as well as evacuees moved to our state during natural disasters in other parts of the country.

Crisis response training with the Kentucky Community Crisis Response Board (KCCRB) is sanctioned by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). Membership in the ICISF is optional and places the member in an international network of CISM teams, provides the member with current educational programs and updates on new procedures and ICISF activities. Membership in Kentucky Community Crisis Response Teams (KCCRT) is required for LEAFCIRT members and places the member in a statewide network of CISM members, provides the member with current educational program schedules within the state, provides the member with protection under Protected Privileged Communication legislation. KCCRT membership also gives the member the opportunity to attend defusings/debriefings in an observer role until such time the member is confident and capable enough to participate.

Four years of team membership with LEAFCIRT is mandatory provided the State Lodge and / or Auxiliary has recruited the member and / or funded the member’s training. FOP and Auxiliary members whose training is funded by their agencies or other employment are invited and encouraged to become team members of LEAFCIRT and will also be expected to serve a minimum of four years.

We are actively recruiting participation of law enforcement officers, FOP, and Auxiliary members across the state. We encourage all members to join us in our effort to provide peer support for our law enforcement officers and their families.

Additional Information on LEAFCIRT:

LEAFCIRT is a combined committee program of the Kentucky State FOP Lodge and the Kentucky State FOP Auxiliary. LEAFCIRTs is comprised of two teams: the Law Enforcement Officers Critical Incident Support Team and the Law Enforcement Families Critical Incident Support Team.

I. MISSION:

A. LEAFCIRTs mission is to provide critical intervention in the event of line-of-duty serious injury

or death.

II. MEMBERSHIP:

B. LEAFCIRTs membership is a combination of CISM-trained members of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodges and their Auxiliaries.

C. Members must be trained by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation or the

Kentucky Community Crisis Response Board (KCCRB) in the Mitchell Model.

D. Basic Group Crisis Intervention and Individual Crisis Intervention and Peer Support are

considered to be minimum training standards by both LEAFCIRTs and the KCCRB.

E. LEAFCIRTs members must first be certified as members of the Kentucky Community Crisis

Response Team (KCCRT) immediately following training in the minimum courses in order to apply for membership with LEAFCIRT.

F. LEAFCIRTs and KCCRT both require four-year membership periods.

III. TRAINING:

G. Along with the minimum courses required for membership, members are required to continue

CISM education throughout their membership period when courses are available.

H. The Kentucky State FOP Lodge will fund the training courses for FOP and Auxiliary members

ONLY who complete the minimum training and submit the Membership Agreement.

IV. DEPLOYMENT

I. In the event of an incident, an agency must contact KCCRB. KCCRB will determine if deploy-

ment of LEAFCIRTs is warranted. KCCRB will also determine if one or both teams should be

deployed.

For Additional Information on the program please contact one of the following team members: